In August 1964, North Vietnamese ships reportedly attacked two U.S. warships. The first incident did in fact happen, but the big question is what was the cause for this attack? President Johnson claims that the United States ships did nothing to provoke the attack, but it would later be shown that the U.S. did in fact provoke these attacks because these warships were supporting South Vietnamese soldiers operating in the North, and the ships were being used to locate North Vietnamese radar stations. The second incident did not involve an American ship actually being attacked. The radar of the ship involved in the second attack simply messed up and the ship reported it was being attacked when in reality it was not under attack. The second incident caused President Johnson to escalate the war and congress issued the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which basically allowed President Johnson to further involve the U.S. in the war in Vietnam.
U.S.S. Maddox was one of the ships involved in the Gulf of Tonkin Incidents
Before the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was issued and before President Johnson was President of the United States approximately 16,000 Americans were acting as advisors to the South Vietnam Military. It is unclear whether these soldiers were simply acting as advisors, or whether the were waging war against South Vietnamese revolutionaries and there northern allies. After Johnson was elected President and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed the number increased to 500,000 soldiers in Vietnam. These soldiers were in clearly sent to Vietnam to engage in actual fighting.
Citations: Cherwitz, Richard A. (1980). "Masking Inconsistency: The Tonkin Gulf Crisis". Communication Quarterly28 (2): 27–37
Wise, David (1973). The Politics of Lying: government deception, secrecy, and power. New York: Vintage Books.
The Gulf of Tonkin Incidents
In August 1964, North Vietnamese ships reportedly attacked two U.S. warships. The first incident did in fact happen, but the big question is what was the cause for this attack? President Johnson claims that the United States ships did nothing to provoke the attack, but it would later be shown that the U.S. did in fact provoke these attacks because these warships were supporting South Vietnamese soldiers operating in the North, and the ships were being used to locate North Vietnamese radar stations. The second incident did not involve an American ship actually being attacked. The radar of the ship involved in the second attack simply messed up and the ship reported it was being attacked when in reality it was not under attack. The second incident caused President Johnson to escalate the war and congress issued the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which basically allowed President Johnson to further involve the U.S. in the war in Vietnam.
Citations:
Cherwitz, Richard A. (1980). "Masking Inconsistency: The Tonkin Gulf Crisis". Communication Quarterly 28 (2): 27–37
Wise, David (1973). The Politics of Lying: government deception, secrecy, and power. New York: Vintage Books.